Niner Noise
FanSided

Predicting 5 surprise NFL teams in the 2018 season

By Peter Panacy

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 24: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams gestures during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 24: Jared Goff #16 of the Los Angeles Rams gestures during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on December 24, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CA – JANUARY 01: Garrett Celek #88 of the San Francisco 49ers is congratulated by DeAndre Smelter #18 after Celek caught a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CA – JANUARY 01: Garrett Celek #88 of the San Francisco 49ers is congratulated by DeAndre Smelter #18 after Celek caught a touchdown pass against the Seattle Seahawks during the fourth quarter of their NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on January 1, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Niner Noise focuses on the long-term view and tries to predict five surprise NFL teams for the 2018 season based off a number of key factors.

The 2017 NFL season is just around the corner, and we have a pretty good idea which teams are going to be good, bad and those in between.

Sure, there may be some risers and “Cinderella stories” this season — teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans are on the rise. And we may expect regressions from the Washington Redskins and/or Minnesota Vikings.

All this is on tap for 2017, through, so what might be the projection for 2018?

In this slideshow, we’ll take a look at five under-the-radar teams who might be big surprises just over a year from now.

Some of these teams have established a solid up-and-coming core, while others are poised to make some big moves during the 2018 offseason.

A number of these teams are bad right now and won’t have a lot of expectations heading into the 2017 season.

But 2018 might be a different story. Here are the five surprises in this down-the-road analysis.